Twice this week as I watched Ethan head to the bus stop I had the opportunity to watch a spectacular race! Tuesday on the way to the school bus the neighbor boy came out, and having a slight edge on Ethan, took off in a mad-dash to win the much coveted status of being the first one to the bus stop. Ethan got his legs moving as fast as possible, and with his backpack bouncing all around he darted to the bus stop, only to come to a complete halt about 25 yards shy of the bus stop. Why? Because he realized he was going to lose, so he quit!
This morning I had the great privilege of seeing round two of the match up. This time, however, Ethan is the one who had the slight edge and he took full advantage of it, dominating the competition and gaining the distinct honor of being the first one to the bus stop. The neighbor boy, just like Ethan, took off in a mad dash only to come to a screeching halt 25 yards shy of the bus stop. Why? Like Ethan he realized he was going to lose, so he quit.
So what do these early morning competitions mean for you and me as we strive to be followers of Jesus? A lot! I feel so many people live out this exact scenario when it comes to their Christian walk. They have an absolutely incredible experience of receiving and experiencing the love and grace of God through Jesus Christ. Many have dreams about how they want to live a life that counts. How they want to live a life that will continually be used by God to bring Him glory, and to bring salvation to others. Many have ideas to change the world. Many have radical dreams and want to make some incredible sacrifices in order to follow Jesus. They take off with so much excitement, energy, enthusiasm, determination, perseverance, and hope, only to quit short of the final destination? Why?
They believed they were gonna lose. As they took off with all these lofty goals, dreams, and prayers they looked around to see a bunch of others who started with those same goals, dreams, and prayers living out a life that looks nothing like what they originally imagined. A life where faith, Jesus, sacrifice, risk, and an amazing adventure, seemed to be replaced with church, routine, boredom, striving for wealth, and getting our life all wrapped up in someone else's adventure through books, television, and celebrity drama. We quit. We stopped. We realized we were going to lose, because we see people all around us who began with the same dreams, desires, and adventures, as we had and somehow they didn't make it, so why should I think I will. We quit.
Francis Chan in Crazy Love states, “I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don’t swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered. That’s for the radicals who are unbalanced and who go overboard. Most of us want a balanced life that we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering.”
I think Francis Chan is right. It is difficult to follow Jesus in a church culture that seems to fit way better with the American dream than with the kingdom of God. Here is my challenge to you and to me... Read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) asking the simple question based on the life and teachings of Jesus how did Jesus expect his followers to live. After you finish the Gospels, read the remainder of the New Testament asking the same question. When you have finished reading ask the question. According to the new testament description of a follower of Jesus, am I a follower of Jesus? As you are reading through the New Testament try your best to read them as if for the first time. Try to forget about how the vast majority of Christians in North America live, and do "faith" and just read the Bible and than ask the question. "According to the new testament description of a follower of Jesus, am I a follower of Jesus?"
We might be surprised, and terrified, of what we find. If you do this, I would love to hear what you discover, and I will be sharing with you what I discover. Have we quit the race because we feared we would lose? If we have, the only thing we can do is start running again! Praying that God would make it abundantly clear to each of us what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and give us the grace, strength, and desire to change whatever needs to change in order to be followers of Jesus.
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